Intrinsic large gap quantum anomalous Hall insulators in LaX (X = Br,Cl,I)

We report a theoretical prediction of a new class of bulk and intrinsic quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators LaX (X=Br, Cl, and I) via relativistic first-principles calculations. We find that these systems are innate long-ranged ferromagnets which, with the help of intrinsic spin-orbit coupling, become QAH insulators. A low-energy multiband tight-binding model is developed to understand the origin of the QAH effect. Finally, integer Chern number is obtained via Berry phase computation for each two-dimensional plane. These materials have the added benefit of a sizable band gap of as large as similar to 25 meV, with the flexibility of enhancing it to above 75 meV via strain engineering. The synthesis of LaX materials will provide the impurity-free single crystals and thin-film QAH insulators for versatile experiments and functionalities.

A further discussion on basic equations for two-phase flow: On collision stress of solid phase

The following points are argued: (i) there are two independent kinds of interaction on interfaces, i.e. the interaction between phases and the collision interaction, and the jump relations on interfaces can accordingly be resolved; (ii) the stress in a particle can also be divided into background stress and collision stress corresponding to the two kinds of interaction on interfaces respectively; (iii) the collision stress, in fact, has no jump on interface, so the averaged value of its derivative is equal to the derivative of its averaged value; (iv) the stress of solid phase in the basic equations for two\|phase flow should include the collision stress, while the stress in the expression of the inter\|phase force contains the background one only. Based on the arguments, the strict method for deriving the equations for two\|phase flow developed by Drew, Ishii et al. is generalized to the dense two\|phase flow, which involves the effect of collision stress.

Energy Conversion in Shape Memory Alloy Heat Engine Part I: Theory

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) can be easily deformed to a new shape by applying a small external load at low temperature, and then recovers its original configuration upon heating. This unique shape memory phenomenon has inspired many novel designs. SMA based heat engine is one among them. SMA heat engine is an environment-friendly alternative to extract mechanical energy from low-grade energies, for instance, warm wastewater, geothermal energy, solar thermal energy, etc. The aim of this paper is to present an applicable theoretical model for simulation of SMA-based heat engines. First, a micro-mechanical constitutive model is derived for SMAs. The volume fractions of austenite and martensite variants are chosen as internal variables to describe the evolution of microstructure in SMA upon phase transition. Subsequently, the energy equation is derived based on the first thermodynamic law and the previous SMA model. From Fourier’s law of heat conduction and Newton’s law of cooling, both differential and integral forms of energy conversion equation are obtained.

The MBA-LBA I period in the Kourion region : new evidences from Erimi- Laonin tou Porakou (Lemesos, Cyprus)

The evidence from Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou within the Kouris valley settlement system can offer further new data to outline a picture of the development trends from MBA to LBA I periods in the Kourion region. As to this area, such a “transitional” phase could be particularly relevant to better understand the development process of the mature LBA II–III urban centers (in Alassa as well as the most recent discovered in Erimi-Pitharka). In 2008–2009 a focus investigation (an intensive survey, geoperspections and excavations) within the Kouris Valley Project has been addressed to the site of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou, which lies on one of the highest hilltops facing southward the Kouris dam. The excavations evidenced a double circuit wall which surrounds the top mound and the lower terrace. The top mound (Area A) has been widely occupied by a complex workshop, directly linked with a storage area. The natural limestone bedrock has been worked out to arrange a system of carved deep basins connected each other by a series of flow channels. Southward from the workshop, a large storage area has been cleared, with a relevant assemblage of big pithoi and storage devices. The first lower terrace area (Area B) has been possibly occupied by a domestic quarter; a cemetery area (Area E) has been also evidenced outside the external circuit wall, where a series of five rock-cut tombs (Tombs 228– 232) with single chamber and small incoming dromoi has been excavated.

Nonequilibrium microstructures and phase evolutions of an iron-based laser clad coating

The microstructural and compositional features of the laser-solidified microstructures and phase evolutions occurring during high temperature tempering were investigated by using analytical electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The cladded alloy, a powder mixture of Fe, Cr, W, Ni and C with a weight ratio of 10:5:1:1:1, was processed with a 3 kW continuous wave CO2 laser. The cladded coating possessed the hypoeutectic microstructure of the primary dendritic gamma-austenite and interdendritic eutectic consisting of (gamma+M7C3). The gamma-austenite is a nonequilibrium phase with extended solid solution of alloying elements. And, a great deal of fine structures, i.e., a high density of dislocations, twins, and stacking faults existed in austenite phase. During high temperature aging, the precipitation of M23C6, MC and M2C in austenite and in situ transformation of M7C3(+gamma) --> M23C6 and M7C3+gamma --> M6C occurred. The laser clad coating revealed an evident secondary hardening and superior impact wear resistance.

Gamma-Ray Attenuation Technique For Measuring Void Fraction In Horizontal Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow

The measurement of void fraction is of importance to the oil industry and chemical industry. In this article, the principle and mathematical method of determining the void fraction of horizontal gas-liquid flow by using a single-energy gamma-ray system is described. The gamma-ray source is the radioactive isotope of Am-241 with gamma-ray energy of 59.5 keV. The time-averaged value of the void fraction in a 50.0-mm i.d. transparent horizontal pipeline is measured under various combinations of the liquid flow and gas flow. It is found that increasing the gas flow rate at a fixed liquid flow rate would increase the void fraction. Test data are compared with the predictions of the correlations and a good agreement is found. The result shows that the designed gamma-ray system can be used for measuring the void fraction in a horizontal gas-liquid two-phase flow with high accuracy.

An In-Situ Observation On Initial Aggregation Process Of Colloidal Particles Near Three-Phase Contact Line Of Air, Water And Vertical Substrate

The self-assembling process near the three-phase contact line of air, water and vertical substrate is widely used to produce various kinds of nanostructured materials and devices. We perform an in-situ observation on the self-assembling process in the vicinity of the three phase contact line. Three kinds of aggregations, i.e. particle-particle aggregation, particle-chain aggregation and chain-chain aggregation, in the initial stage of vertical deposition process are revealed by our experiments. It is found that the particle particle aggregation and the particle-chain aggregation can be qualitatively explained by the theory of the capillary immersion force and mirror image force, while the chain-chain aggregation leaves an opening question for the further studies. The present study may provide more deep insight into the self-assembling process of colloidal particles.

Theory Of Phase Transformation And Reorientation In Single Crystalline Shape Memory Alloys

A constitutive model, based on an (n + 1)-phase mixture of the Mori-Tanaka average theory, has been developed for stress-induced martensitic transformation and reorientation in single crystalline shape memory alloys. Volume fractions of different martensite lattice correspondence variants are chosen as internal variables to describe microstructural evolution. Macroscopic Gibbs free energy for the phase transformation is derived with thermodynamics principles and the ensemble average method of micro-mechanics. The critical condition and the evolution equation are proposed for both the phase transition and reorientation. This model can also simulate interior hysteresis loops during loading/unloading by switching the critical driving forces when an opposite transition takes place.

Fatigue crack-growth rate in ferrite martensite dual-phase steel

An empirical study is made on the fatigue crack growth rate in ferrite-martensite dual-phase (FMDP) steel. Particular attention is given to the effect of ferrite content in the range of 24.2% to 41.5% where good fatigue resistance was found at 33.8%. Variations in ferrite content did not affect the crack growth rate itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si1.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="53" height="18" />when plotted against the effective stress intensity factor range itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si2.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="39" height="14" /> which was assumed to follow a linear relation with the crack tip stress intensity factor range ΔK. A high itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si4.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="39" height="14" /> corresponds to uniformly distributed small size ferrite and martensite. No other appreciable correlation could be ralated to the microstructure morphology of the FMDP steel. The closure stress intensity factor itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si5.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="21" height="13" />, however, is affected by the ferrite content with itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si6.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="64" height="17" /> reaching a maximum value of 0.7. In general, crack growth followed the interphase between the martensite and ferrite.

Dividing the fatigue crack growth process into Stage I and II where the former would be highly sensitive to changes in ΔK and the latter would increase with ΔK depending on the itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si9.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="115" height="18" /> ratio. The same data when correlated with the strain energy density factor range ΔS showed negligible dependence on mean stress or R ratio for Stage I crack growth. A parameter α involving the ratio of ultimate stress to yield stress, percent reduction of area and R is introduced for Stage II crack growth so that the itle="View the MathML source" class="mathImg"><img style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; display: inline; max-width: 600px" class="imgLazyJSB" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-016784429190028I-si13.gif" border="0" alt="View the MathML source" title="View the MathML source" width="53" height="18" /> data for different R would collapse onto a single curve with a narrow scatter band when plotted against αΔS.

The kinetic-theory for dilute solid liquid 2-phase flow

On the basis of a brief review of the continuum theory for macroscopic descriptions and the kinetic theory for microscopic descriptions in solid/liquid two-phase flows, some suggestions are presented, i.e. the solid phase may be described by the Boltzmann equation and the liquid phase still be described by conservation laws in the continuum theory. Among them the action force on the particles by the liquid fluid is a coupling factor which connects the phases. For dilute steady solid/liquid two-phase flows, the particle velocity distribution function can be derived by analogy with the procedures in the kinetic theory of gas molecules for the equilibrium state instead of being assumed, as previous investigators did. This done, more detailed information, such as the velocity probability density distribution, mean velocity distribution and fluctuating intensity etc. can be obtained directly from the particle velocity distribution function or from its integration. Experiments have been performed for dilute solid/liquid two-phase flow in a 4 x 6 cm2 sized circulating square pipe system by means of laser Doppler anemometry so that the theories can be examined. The comparisons show that the theories agree very well with all the measured data.

Kinetic theory for particle concentration distribution in two phase flow

The results of experiments in open channels and closed pipelines show two kinds of patterns for the vertical distribution of particle concentration (i.e., pattern I and pattern II). The former shows a pattern of maximum concentration at some location above the bottom and the downward decay of the concentration below the location. The latter always shows an increase of the particle concentration downward over the whole vertical, with the maximum value at the bottom. Many investigations were made on the pattern II, but few were made on pattern I. In this paper, a particle velocity distribution function is first obtained in the equilibrium state or in dilute steady state for the particle in two-phase flows, then a theoretical model for the particle concentration distribution is derived from the kinetic theory. More attention is paid to the predictions of the concentration distribution of pattern I and comparisons of the present model are made with the data measured by means of laser doppler anemometry (LDA). Very good agreements are obtained between the measured and calculated results.

Effect of Molecular Flexibility on the Nematic-to-Isotropic Phase Transition for Highly Biaxial Molecular Non-Symmetric Liquid Crystal Dimers

In this work, a study of the nematic (N)-isotropic (I) phase transition has been made in a series of odd non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers, the alpha-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)-omega-(1-pyrenimine-benzylidene-4'-oxy) alkanes, by means of accurate calorimetric and dielectric measurements. These materials are potential candidates to present the elusive biaxial nematic (N-B) phase, as they exhibit both molecular biaxiality and flexibility. According to the theory, the uniaxial nematic (N-U)-isotropic (I) phase transition is first-order in nature, whereas the N-B-I phase transition is second-order. Thus, a fine analysis of the critical behavior of the N-I phase transition would allow us to determine the presence or not of the biaxial nematic phase and understand how the molecular biaxiality and flexibility of these compounds influences the critical behavior of the N-I phase transition.

Complex Transition of Double-Diffusive Convection in a Rectangular Enclosure with Height-to-Length Ratio Equal to 4: Part I

This is the first part of direct numerical simulation (DNS) of double-diffusive convection in a slim rectangular enclosure with horizontal temperature and concentration gradients. We consider the case with the thermal Rayleigh number of 10^5, the Pradtle number of 1, the Lewis number of 2, the buoyancy ratio of composition to temperature being in the range of [0,1], and height-to-width aspect ration of 4. A new 7th order upwind compact scheme was developed for approximation of convective terms, and a three-stage third-order Runge-Kutta method was employed for time advancement. Our DNS suggests that with the buoyancy ratio increasing form 0 to 1, the flow of transition is a complex series changing fromthe steady to periodic, chaotic, periodic, quasi-periodic, and finally back to periodic. There are two types of periodic flow, one is simple periodic flow with single fundamental frequency (FF), and another is complex periodic flow with multiple FFs. This process is illustrated by using time-velocity histories, Fourier frequency spectrum analysis and the phase-space rajectories.

Physical investigations of small particles : (I) aerosol particle charging and flux enhancement and (II) whispering gallery mode sensing

Part I

Particles are a key feature of planetary atmospheres. On Earth they represent the greatest source of uncertainty in the global energy budget. This uncertainty can be addressed by making more measurement, by improving the theoretical analysis of measurements, and by better modeling basic particle nucleation and initial particle growth within an atmosphere. This work will focus on the latter two methods of improvement.

Uncertainty in measurements is largely due to particle charging. Accurate descriptions of particle charging are challenging because one deals with particles in a gas as opposed to a vacuum, so different length scales come into play. Previous studies have considered the effects of transition between the continuum and kinetic regime and the effects of two and three body interactions within the kinetic regime. These studies, however, use questionable assumptions about the charging process which resulted in skewed observations, and bias in the proposed dynamics of aerosol particles. These assumptions affect both the ions and particles in the system. Ions are assumed to be point monopoles that have a single characteristic speed rather than follow a distribution. Particles are assumed to be perfect conductors that have up to five elementary charges on them. The effects of three body interaction, ion-molecule-particle, are also overestimated. By revising this theory so that the basic physical attributes of both ions and particles and their interactions are better represented, we are able to make more accurate predictions of particle charging in both the kinetic and continuum regimes.

The same revised theory that was used above to model ion charging can also be applied to the flux of neutral vapor phase molecules to a particle or initial cluster. Using these results we can model the vapor flux to a neutral or charged particle due to diffusion and electromagnetic interactions. In many classical theories currently applied to these models, the finite size of the molecule and the electromagnetic interaction between the molecule and particle, especially for the neutral particle case, are completely ignored, or, as is often the case for a permanent dipole vapor species, strongly underestimated. Comparing our model to these classical models we determine an “enhancement factor” to characterize how important the addition of these physical parameters and processes is to the understanding of particle nucleation and growth.

Part II

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical biosensors are capable of extraordinarily sensitive specific and non-specific detection of species suspended in a gas or fluid. Recent experimental results suggest that these devices may attain single-molecule sensitivity to protein solutions in the form of stepwise shifts in their resonance wavelength, \lambda_{R}, but present sensor models predict much smaller steps than were reported. This study examines the physical interaction between a WGM sensor and a molecule adsorbed to its surface, exploring assumptions made in previous efforts to model WGM sensor behavior, and describing computational schemes that model the experiments for which single protein sensitivity was reported. The resulting model is used to simulate sensor performance, within constraints imposed by the limited material property data. On this basis, we conclude that nonlinear optical effects would be needed to attain the reported sensitivity, and that, in the experiments for which extreme sensitivity was reported, a bound protein experiences optical energy fluxes too high for such effects to be ignored.